ModelSignal
Find a post
Free Alternatives· Part 7

Save $2,158/year. Use these free tools instead.

12 paid tools and a free, self-hostable alternative for each — $179.81 a month, $2,158 a year between them.

29 Sep 2026 · Prices checked 28–29 Sep 2026

Jump to the 12 tools
The cover of the ModelSignal post: Save $2,158/year. Use these free tools instead.
The post’s cover as it appeared on social media.
12paid tools, each with a free one
$179.81a month for all the paid plans
$2,158a year — computed, monthly × 12
$0in licences for the free ones

All 12 tools, with prices and links

  1. 01Session replay

    OpenReplay logo

    OpenReplay

    Instead of Hotjar

    “Session replay, cobrowsing and product analytics you can self-host. Best for reproducing issues and iterating on your product.”

    — OpenReplay, in its own words. It doesn’t name Hotjar itself: the pairing is ModelSignal’s, not its maintainers’.
    • Custom licence
    • Self-hosted
    • 12.9k
    Get OpenReplay openreplay/openreplay
    Hotjar costs
    $39/mo · Growth planPrinted as “$39” on their pricing page, read 29 Sep 2026.
    Over a year
    $468Computed: $39 × 12.
    OpenReplay costs
    $0 licence, self-hostedYour server and your time are not free.
    Maintenance
    12.9k stars · 81 contributorsLast commit 29 Sep 2026, per GitHub on 29 Sep 2026.

  2. 02AI app building

    OpenHands logo

    OpenHands

    Instead of Lovable

    “OpenHands: AI-Driven Development”

    — OpenHands, in its own words. It doesn’t name Lovable itself: the pairing is ModelSignal’s, not its maintainers’.
    • Open source · MIT
    • Self-hosted
    • 89.4k
    Get OpenHands All-Hands-AI/OpenHands
    Lovable costs
    $25/mo · Pro planPrinted as “$25 / month” on their pricing page, read 28 Sep 2026.
    Over a year
    $300Computed: $25 × 12.
    OpenHands costs
    $0 licence, self-hostedYour server and your time are not free.
    Maintenance
    89.4k stars · 565 contributorsLast commit 28 Sep 2026, per GitHub on 28 Sep 2026.

  3. 03Chatbots

    Typebot logo

    Typebot

    Instead of Tidio

    “Typebot is a powerful chatbot builder that you can self-host.”

    — Typebot, in its own words. It doesn’t name Tidio itself: the pairing is ModelSignal’s, not its maintainers’.
    • Custom licence
    • Self-hosted
    • 10.4k
    Get Typebot baptisteArno/typebot.io
    Tidio costs
    $24.17/mo · Starter planPrinted as “$ 24.17 /mo” on their pricing page, read 28 Sep 2026.
    Over a year
    $290Computed: $24.17 × 12.
    Typebot costs
    $0 licence, self-hostedYour server and your time are not free.
    Maintenance
    10.4k stars · 88 contributorsLast commit 24 Sep 2026, per GitHub on 28 Sep 2026.

  4. 04Sales CRM

    Twenty logo

    Twenty

    Instead of Pipedrive

    “The open alternative to Salesforce, designed for AI.”

    — Twenty, in its own words. It doesn’t name Pipedrive itself: the pairing is ModelSignal’s, not its maintainers’.
    • Custom licence
    • Self-hosted
    • 57.7k
    Get Twenty twentyhq/twenty
    Pipedrive costs
    $14/seat/mo · Lite planPrinted as “$ 14” on their pricing page, read 28 Sep 2026.
    Over a year
    $168 per userComputed: $14 × 12.
    Twenty costs
    $0 licence, self-hostedYour server and your time are not free.
    Maintenance
    57.7k stars · 758 contributorsLast commit 28 Sep 2026, per GitHub on 28 Sep 2026.

  5. 05Uptime monitoring

    Uptime Kuma logo

    Uptime Kuma

    Instead of UptimeRobot

    “A fancy self-hosted monitoring tool”

    — Uptime Kuma, in its own words. It doesn’t name UptimeRobot itself: the pairing is ModelSignal’s, not its maintainers’.
    • Open source · MIT
    • Self-hosted
    • 91.9k
    Get Uptime Kuma louislam/uptime-kuma
    UptimeRobot costs
    $12/mo · Solo planPrinted as “$12 /month” on their pricing page, read 28 Sep 2026.
    Over a year
    $144Computed: $12 × 12.
    Uptime Kuma costs
    $0 licence, self-hostedYour server and your time are not free.
    Maintenance
    91.9k stars · 1,138 contributorsLast commit 28 Sep 2026, per GitHub on 28 Sep 2026.

  6. 06Team docs

    Docmost logo

    Docmost

    Instead of Coda

    “Docmost is an open-source collaborative wiki and documentation software. It is an open-source alternative to Confluence and Notion.”

    — Docmost, in its own words. It doesn’t name Coda itself: the pairing is ModelSignal’s, not its maintainers’.
    • Open source · AGPL-3.0
    • Self-hosted
    • 21.8k
    Get Docmost docmost/docmost
    Coda costs
    $12/mo · Pro planPrinted as “$12” on their pricing page, read 28 Sep 2026.
    Over a year
    $144Computed: $12 × 12.
    Docmost costs
    $0 licence, self-hostedYour server and your time are not free.
    Maintenance
    21.8k stars · 52 contributorsLast commit 27 Sep 2026, per GitHub on 28 Sep 2026.

  7. 07Work planning

    Leantime logo

    Leantime

    Instead of Asana

    “Leantime is a goals focused project management system for non-project managers. Building with ADHD, Autism, and dyslexia in mind.”

    — Leantime, in its own words. It doesn’t name Asana itself: the pairing is ModelSignal’s, not its maintainers’.
    • Open source · AGPL-3.0
    • Self-hosted
    • 11.7k
    Get Leantime Leantime/leantime
    Asana costs
    $10.99/user/mo · Starter plan · billed yearlyPrinted as “$10.99” on their pricing page, read 28 Sep 2026.
    Over a year
    $132 per userComputed: $10.99 × 12.
    Leantime costs
    $0 licence, self-hostedYour server and your time are not free.
    Maintenance
    11.7k stars · 198 contributorsLast commit 24 Sep 2026, per GitHub on 28 Sep 2026.

  8. 08Website building

    Webstudio logo

    Webstudio

    Instead of Framer

    “Open source website builder and Webflow alternative. Webstudio is an advanced visual builder that connects to any headless CMS, supports all CSS properties, and can be hosted anywhere, including with us.”

    — Webstudio, in its own words. It doesn’t name Framer itself: the pairing is ModelSignal’s, not its maintainers’.
    • Open source · AGPL-3.0
    • Self-hosted
    • 9k
    Get Webstudio webstudio-is/webstudio
    Framer costs
    $10/mo · Basic planPrinted as “$10 per month” on their pricing page, read 28 Sep 2026.
    Over a year
    $120Computed: $10 × 12.
    Webstudio costs
    $0 licence, self-hostedYour server and your time are not free.
    Maintenance
    9k stars · 50 contributorsLast commit 28 Sep 2026, per GitHub on 28 Sep 2026.

  9. 09Kanban

    Kanboard logo

    Kanboard

    Instead of Monday

    “Kanban project management software”

    — Kanboard, in its own words. It doesn’t name Monday itself: the pairing is ModelSignal’s, not its maintainers’.
    • Open source · MIT
    • Self-hosted
    • 9.9k
    Get Kanboard kanboard/kanboard
    Monday costs
    $9/seat/mo · Basic planPrinted as “$ 9 seat” on their pricing page, read 28 Sep 2026.
    Over a year
    $108 per userComputed: $9 × 12.
    Kanboard costs
    $0 licence, self-hostedYour server and your time are not free.
    Maintenance
    9.9k stars · 454 contributorsLast commit 23 Sep 2026, per GitHub on 28 Sep 2026.

  10. 10Grid databases

    Teable logo

    Teable

    Instead of Smartsheet

    “AI Spreadsheet for Business”

    — Teable, in its own words. It doesn’t name Smartsheet itself: the pairing is ModelSignal’s, not its maintainers’.
    • Custom licence
    • Self-hosted
    • 21.8k
    Get Teable teableio/teable
    Smartsheet costs
    $9/member/mo · Pro planPrinted as “$ 9 per” on their pricing page, read 28 Sep 2026.
    Over a year
    $108Computed: $9 × 12.
    Teable costs
    $0 licence, self-hostedYour server and your time are not free.
    Maintenance
    21.8k stars · 43 contributorsLast commit 27 Sep 2026, per GitHub on 28 Sep 2026.

  11. 11Note taking

    Joplin logo

    Joplin

    Instead of Evernote

    “Joplin - the privacy-focused note taking app with sync capabilities for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS.”

    — Joplin, in its own words. It doesn’t name Evernote itself: the pairing is ModelSignal’s, not its maintainers’.
    • Custom licence
    • Self-hosted
    • 56.5k
    Get Joplin laurent22/joplin
    Evernote costs
    $8.25/mo · Starter planPrinted as “$8.25 / month” on their pricing page, read 28 Sep 2026.
    Over a year
    $99Computed: $8.25 × 12.
    Joplin costs
    $0 licence, self-hostedYour server and your time are not free.
    Maintenance
    56.5k stars · 820 contributorsLast commit 28 Sep 2026, per GitHub on 28 Sep 2026.

  12. 12Personal knowledge base

    Trilium logo

    Trilium

    Instead of Craft

    “Build your personal knowledge base with Trilium Notes”

    — Trilium, in its own words. It doesn’t name Craft itself: the pairing is ModelSignal’s, not its maintainers’.
    • Open source · AGPL-3.0
    • Self-hosted
    • 38.1k
    Get Trilium zadam/trilium
    Craft costs
    $6.40/mo · PLUS planPrinted as “$6.4 /month” on their pricing page, read 28 Sep 2026.
    Over a year
    $77Computed: $6.40 × 12.
    Trilium costs
    $0 licence, self-hostedYour server and your time are not free.
    Maintenance
    38.1k stars · 457 contributorsLast commit 28 Sep 2026, per GitHub on 28 Sep 2026.

Free of licence, not free of cost.

Self-hosting means a server and the time to run it. The free tools here cost $0 to license; the paid prices are the cheapest paid tier in US dollars on the day shown, and they change. “Open source” is only shown where the repository declares an OSI-approved licence.

How these were checked

Every price was read off the vendor's own pricing page, rendered in a real browser on 2026-09-28 and 2026-09-29, taking the cheapest paid tier in US dollars. The page and the date are listed against each one below, so you can check any of them yourself.

Quoted or computed. Each entry shows the price as the page prints it. 12 of 12 appear on the vendor's page word for word. Anything worked out from those figures is labelled computed and shows its arithmetic, so a number we calculated cannot be mistaken for one a vendor published. The only computed figures here are the yearly costs and the totals.

0 of the 12 free tools describe themselves, in their maintainers' own words, as an alternative to the tool they sit beside. The other 12 do not name theirs, so those pairings are not their maintainers' claim, and each one says so. Every description is quoted underneath its tool. Stars, contributors and last commit came from the GitHub API on the same day as the prices.

All twelve free projects had been committed to within the last 90 days.

Self-hosting is not free of cost — it is free of licence. A server and the time to run it are yours to pay either way, and nothing below pretends otherwise.

All posts